Escape
by maskerader
Summary: Lora Baines had been dating Kevin Flynn for a while, but things just weren't working out. They broke it off, but can she go through with it after she starts to consider some of their times together? [Could be considered finished, but I could also continue, if people seem to want that.]
1. Realization

That was it. She and Flynn were no longer a thing. An "item." A couple." They were no longer together. Lora didn't cry, didn't know if she _could_ cry. There were finals she should be studying for, and she knew that, but like _hell_ she was going to be able to concentrate. She needed to go, needed to get away, needed to do _something_ that wasn't the endless cycle of school, work, and up until now, seeing Flynn. He had been her escape.

He couldn't be her escape anymore. Lora numbly looked for her keys, not realizing that she hadn't yet put them down. They had had their "talk" in person, which meant that she'd just gotten back to her little apartment. She couldn't stay there. There were too many memories in it for her to stay there right now.

As soon as she realized that her keys were still in her hand, Lora grabbed a jacket and headed out the door, locking it behind her. Despite how numb she was, there were _still_some things that were just a habit. Her research and the work she was doing on her thesis were _far_ too valuable to simply leave the door unlocked, even in her current state.

Lora got into her car, still the old junker that she had first purchased when she had moved to California. She could probably have afforded a better car, at this point, but she was trying to save as much as she could for a rainy day. These weren't really important at the moment; what was important was that she had a car that worked, a car that she could get in and simply _drive._

Damn it, even her _car_ reminded her of Flynn, with the cassette player he'd put in for her.


	2. A Few Months Earlier

A few months earlier

_"Damn it, girl, you still got an eight-track in this thing?" he laughed, climbing into the passenger seat of her junker._

_"Hey, it gets me from point A to B in one piece. Besides, it was all I could afford when I got it; I wasn't exactly looking for the newest in stereo systems," Lora responded, sliding behind the wheel._

"Barely_ in one piece," Kevin quipped, shutting the glove box for the second time since he'd gotten in the vehicle._

_Lora ignored him, but there was a smile on her face as she started the car, towards the surprise she had for Kevin which was the reason_ she_ was driving today._

_"Where are you taking me, woman?" he asked in mock exasperation after Lora made yet another U-turn._

_"You'll see," was the only response from the woman in the driver's seat, but she was still wearing a self-satisfied little smirk._

_A few miles down the road, Lora reached into a bag at her feet and produced a blindfold. Not just a bandana or a tie that you could_ use_ for a blindfold, but a piece of cloth that had Sole Designation: Blindfold practically written all over it._

_She grinned at Kevin's raised eyebrows. "I see I can still surprise you, even in the middle of my surprise," it was her turn to quip._

_"If this is any indication of the rest of the surprise, keep it coming," Kevin Flynn shot back with his own smirk._

_"Just put the blindfold on," Lora laughed._

_With much good-natured grumbling, Flynn obliged, resisting the urge to tie it so that he could still see; Lora would be able to tell if he'd done that, he was sure._

_When she was sure that the blindfold was properly tied (and that Kevin hadn't deliberately done it up so that he'd be able to peek), Lora made another U-turn, but this time so that she could head in the right direction to pick up the surprise she'd purchased for her boyfriend._

_A little while and quite a few blindfold quips later, Lora brought the car to a stop, almost as excited as she hoped Kevin was going to be._

_Before Kevin could do so much as move, Lora was out of the car and around to the passenger side, helping the still-blindfolded Flynn safely out of the vehicle._

_"You know, there are easier ways to get me to do what you want," he murmured suggestively._

_Lora laughed, slipping an arm around Flynn's waist to better lead him where she wanted. "Oh, I know," she responded. "And I'm planning on using those methods later, when I actually need them," she teased._

_"Oh, Lora, you wound me," Flynn said dramatically, putting his hand over his heart._

_Even though she knew he couldn't currently see her, Lora rolled her eyes. But that was part of why she loved Kevin Flynn, with all of his dramatic tendencies._

_"All right, Kevin, hold still," Lora said, reaching up behind him to untie the blindfold. "Ta-da!" she exclaimed, bouncing over to the_ Galaxian_ cabinet she'd tracked down and purchased for his arcade. "What d'you think, cowboy?" she grinned, "Is this a good surprise?"_

_Flynn just stared for a minute, unsure if he was really seeing things properly. "Is this a good—" he interrupted himself with an incredulous laugh, running a hand through his hair. "Lora, I…," he trailed off, pulling her in to kiss her soundly in answer to her question. When they finally had to surface for air, he added, "I can't_ believe_ you, babe," tone of voice still clearly showing that he thought he might be hallucinating._

_"I know how hard you've been looking for this one," Lora murmured, threading her fingers through Flynn's, "so I did some research and I made a few calls."_

_"So_ that's_ why you've been making those mysterious phone calls. I thought you might have another boyfriend," Flynn teased, hugging Lora to him again._

_Lora laughed, batting at his chest playfully. "You know me better than that, Kevin Flynn," she said. "Besides, you're probably the only man on earth who'd hit on a girl with glasses like mine," she pointed out, matching his teasing tone._

_"Hey, that's unfair," Flynn protested good-naturedly, "If Gibbs was about 30 years younger, I have a feeling he'd give me a run for my money."_

_"If Gibbs was 30 years younger, I wouldn't exist," she pointed out, giggling. "Come on; let's get this loaded into my car so we can get it set up at the arcade," Lora said, standing on tip-toe to give Flynn a quick kiss before she darted over to the video game cabinet, ready to move it._


	3. The Next Morning

The Next Morning

_Since it was the weekend and Lora didn't have to worry about school or work ( though she really should be working on that paper that was due next week….oh, well; she'd get to it eventually), she and Flynn had stayed in the little apartment above the arcade rather than going home. It had taken next to no time for Flynn to get_ Galaxian_ set up, but they stayed up into the wee hours of the morning, playing all the games…..and then making some of their own. It had just made sense to crash here rather than driving across town to their other apartment._

_Sometime in the afternoon, Lora opened her eyes, still a bit drowsy. She rolled over in the bed, wanting to cuddle with Kevin, only to find that the other side of the bed was empty._

_She sat up, looking around for her clothes. If he was up before she was, he had probably gone to run an errand, or he was checking on (read: playing) his video games, yet again._

_Even as she was yawning and stretching, willing herself to be more awake, a figure appeared in the doorway, carrying two steaming cups._

_"I love watching you in the mornings," Flynn murmured, eyes taking in every detail of Lora's uncovered features._

_"You just like the fact that I'm still naked," she laughed through a yawn, stretching her arms above her head._

_"Mmm," was the only sign of agreement from the man in the doorway, but the gaze that was raking her body was clearly appreciative._

_Now that Lora was slightly more awake, she had finally noticed that Kevin was carrying mugs of something._

_"Did you make coffee?" she asked, practically purring as she batted her eyes at him._

_"I did," he said, striding over to the bed, presenting her with a cup, and sitting down next to her._

_"You spoil me," Lora grinned, scooting to the edge of the bed to join Kevin, gladly taking the cup he offered her. After she took a glance into the mug, Lora raised an eyebrow. "Did you mean to hand me your coffee, Mr. One Cream, Two Sugars?"_

_Flynn grinned, taking his mug of coffee from his girlfriend and handing her own back. "Just making sure you're awake, Ms. 'I Take It Black.'"_

_The woman didn't respond other than to take a deep pull from her mug of coffee. "Mmm, that's good," she murmured, slipping her free arm around Flynn's back. "A great cup of coffee served to me in bed by a wonderful boyfriend; what could be better?" Lora mused, resting her head on Kevin's shoulder._

_It was as if Flynn had been waiting for her to say something like that. His trademark cheeky grin firmly in place, he looped an arm around Lora's back, fingers snaking into her hair as he kissed her._

_When they finally surfaced for air, Lora was panting, clutching the miraculously still-full cup of coffee against her chest._

_"Come on," Flynn grinned, his nose an inch from hers. "Time for me to show_ you_ something," he said, taking her mug and placing it next to his on the bedside table. "Come on," he repeated, pulling her towards the stairs that led to the bottom floor._

_"Kevin!" Lora exclaimed, pulling back from him._

_"What?" he asked, completely oblivious to why she would be possibly resisting him._

_"Let me put some_ clothes_ on before you whisk me away to see your newest harebrained scheme!" she laughed, scooping to grab an article of clothing from the floor._

_"Oh, right," he laughed, watching Lora as she gathered up her clothes and got dressed. He loved to watch her; the way she moved, the way she looked….she had an unconscious grace about her that was captivating._

_Once she was dressed (ugh, they needed to go back to their regular apartment after this so they could_both_ get some clean clothes…..and probably a shower), Lora picked her way over to Flynn, grinning. "After you show me your mysterious new scheme, let's go home and get a shower, okay?" Lora was not a fan of putting her old clothes back on, especially after the night of …. activities they'd had._

_"You and your excessive need for showers," Flynn laughed, planting a kiss on the top of her head. "Yeah, sure. A shower does sound pretty good right about now," he conceded. "Besides, I can always head back here while you work on your papers," he added mischievously._

_Lora groaned. "Don't remind me," she muttered darkly. Really, she_ should_ have been up all night writing papers instead of trading algorithms with Flynn, but after the day they had had …. the papers could wait._

_"Come on; this'll take your mind off of it," he grinned, tugging her by the hand after him down the stairs._

_"All right, all right," she laughed, allowed herself to be pulled after Flynn. "Just don't pull my arm out of my socket; I'm going to need that later," she teased. His enthusiasm for his projects was almost always contagious, and by the time they got to the bottom of the stairs, she was just as excited as he was, though she didn't have a clue as to why._

_He led her through the arcade, out to where her car was parked, and around to the driver's side of the vehicle. Flinging the door open, he steered her into the seat, with a triumphant, "Ta-da!" (it was also a passable imitation of her announcement the day before), gesturing to the newly-installed cassette deck and stack of brand new cassettes of Lora's favorite bands. "What do you think, Ms. Baines?" he grinned, "is this a good surprise?"_

_Lora stared for a minute, blinking at the new technology in her old vehicle. It had been beautifully installed; quite frankly, it looked professional. And the stack of cassettes that he had bought her…..he had replaced a bunch of her old eight tracks, [/i]and[i] he had bought her some albums she had wanted for quite some time._

_Instead of responding verbally, Lora just grinned, pulling Flynn down to her for a kiss. He had imitated her presentation, now she was mimicking his response. "Yes, it is a good surprise," she told him finally when they emerged for air. "Thank you," she added, standing up so that she could give him a hug. It had been hard to find some of the newer albums on eight track, but she hadn't wanted to do anything about her car because, honestly, she was a little bit surprised that it hadn't died on her yet. "It's perfect," she murmured, resting her head on Flynn's chest, content to be in his arms. Right now, everything was right in her world._


	4. Escape

The memories flooded through her as she simply stared at the cassette player, dry-eyed and trembling. She couldn't start doing this to herself or she would never stop.

She needed to _drive,_ not think. The woman flung herself across the space between the seats, reaching for the tapes on the floor of the passenger's side. Lora rifled through them, rejecting some of her favorites; as much as she loved The Beatles, they were too upbeat in general for how she was feeling.

Finally, she came across Pink Floyd's _The Wall._ It was a fairly new album and she hadn't had much opportunity to listen to it, but it seemed to fit her current mood. Clutching the cassette to her, she pulled herself upright, put the cassette in the player, and finally, blessedly, started driving.

The music filled her car, dark tones and disturbing imagery suited to her mood. She didn't know where she was going; all she knew was that she had to get out of L.A.

Lora pulled onto the highway, driving up the coast, speeding down the road. She passed car after car, soothed by the voice of Roger Waters and his strangely wonderful rock opera. Perhaps that was what had originally drawn her to the idea of _The Wall_; it wasn't exactly her usual type of music. But it was working wonders for her frazzled self. She had interspersed the occasional Journey, Kansas, or Billy Joel with listening to the entirety of _The Wall_ as she drove, belting along to all the songs she knew.

This was how she was going to cope. She would get through this. She was a strong, confident, intelligent young woman, and she would deal with this. All it was….was another obstacle on her way to earning her doctorate.

After Lora had been driving for about five hours, she finally realized where she was headed; she had gotten onto I-5, the most direct route to Seattle. She was going to visit her parents.


End file.
